Dave ‘Hughesy’ Hughes is known for his cheeky nature and comedy chops, but the TV favourite battled a crippling alcohol addiction that saw him hit an all-time low at just 21.
The Masked Singer panellist revealed in a guest appearance on LiSTNR’s The Jess Rowe Big Talk Show that he forced himself to get sober in his 20s after too many dark days of drinking.
“I’d been a bad drunk from the age of probably fourteen or fifteen,” he confessed to host Jess Rowe.
Hughesy in 2005, years after he got sober.
(Image: Getty)“I’d always obliterate myself. I was always out of control when I drank, and I didn’t like myself afterwards.”
His battle with the bottle only got worse as time went on and by the time he was approaching his twenties, Hughesy was struggling with mental health issues because of it.
“It made me really stressed and I was depressed there’s no doubt about it,” he recalled of that dark time in his life.
“I’d just dropped out of university because I wasn’t able to focus. I was a low point in my life basically.”
But it wasn’t until he was 21 that he found the courage to make a change – and make it last.
“It was Christmas Eve 1992 that the decision was made for me, by me, that I wasn’t going to drink again. So yeah, and here we are almost thirty years later,” he revealed.
Now 51, the sober star gets a healthy high from the excitement of performing comedy to live crowds and getting involved with projects like The Masked Singer.
He’s stayed sober for three decades and previously revealed the fear of how his body might react to alcohol after all these years helps him stay on the wagon.
“Holly reminded me of a conversation we’d had when we’d just started going out 17 years ago,” he told The Daily Mail of a conversation with wife Holly Ife.
These days Hughesy gets his high from live comedy performances.
(Image: Instagram)“She apparently said to me, ‘What do you think would happen if you drank again, would you be a raging alcoholic?’
“I replied that I didn’t know, possibly not. But since I’d decided not to drink, my life had got so much better that I didn’t want to risk it.”
More stars are opening up about going sober in recent years, with local celebs like David Campbell and Matt Agnew choosing not to drink.
Please remember to drink responsibly. If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Alcohol and Other Drug hotline on 1800 250 015 or call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
